Pipe-coupling for railway-cars



(No Model.)

P. DUPRESNE.

PIPE COUPLING POR RAILWAY CARS. No. 371,558. Patented Oct. 18, 1887.

gjy,

D Q R m a i M Q K R tial section of my complete device.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

PETER DUFRESNE, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIPE-COUPLING FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,558, dated October18, 1887.

Application filed April 4, 1887. Serial No. 233,574. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER DUEEEsNE, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Springfield, Hampden county, State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improved Pipe-Couplingbetween Railroad-Oars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to a coupling for pipe endsbetween railroad-cars, and to universal joints to which each pipe end isconnected, having for their object an air or steam tight passage fromcar to car, as well as a latitude of motion in the coupled pipe endscompensating for a relative deflection of the car ends; and theinvention consists in the combination and construction as hereinafterdescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention is fully illustrated in the ac companying drawings, inwhich- Figure I is a view in one plane and in par- Fig. II is a view ofthe complete device and in partial section in a plane at right angles tothat occupied in Fig. I. Fig. III is a detail view. Fig. 1V is a sectionon the dotted line as a: of Fig. I, and Figs. V and VI are completeviews of parts shown in section in Fig. IV.

The universal joint upon eachcar connecting the free pipe end with themain pipe under the car is constructed as follows: An angle-pipe, B,(shown more particularly in Fig. 1H,) is provided with annular shouldersI) b at the base of each arm, is provided with threads 0 0 upon the topof each arm, and has the orifice in each pipe end closed, as indicatedby plugs d d, showing above said ends. The arms of pipe B have also,about midway .between their ends and the shoulders I) I),circumferential ports e e to its interior.

The free pipe ends 0 to be coupled and the main pipes D beneath the carsare hinged to the angle-pipes B as follows: A sleeve, E,with itsOpposite open ends adapted to fit snugly one arm of the angle-pipe B, ispassed over said arm, to bear against a shoulder, 12. A con1pression-spring, F, is passed over the free end of the pipe-arm, projectingbeyond the sleeve E, to rest on the near end of said sleeve, and acollar, G, is run upon the thread 0 to compress the spring F, to causeit in turn to bear the bottom of the sleeve against the shoulder b. Aconical ring-packing, f, interposed between the spring and the sleeve Eand between the sleeve and shoulder 12, forms a tightjoint be tween theinterior of the sleeve and the surface of the pipe-arm on each side ofthe ports 6, and the wall of the sleeve E is swelled oppositet-he portse, as shown, to form a continuous unrcduced passage around them.

The sleeve E is shown as forming a rigid part of pipe D, and the pipe 0is shown connected in the same way by a sleeve, H, to the remaining armof the angle-pipe B.

It will be seen that the pipe C can be swung in either of two planes atright angles or simultaneously in both upon the hinges formed by theangle-pipe B, and corresponding pipe ends 0 and hinges, as described,arranged as reverse counterparts, permit to coupled pipe ends 0 all ofthe motion required to adapt themselves to the swaying of the car ends.

To form a tighterjoint and protect the collar G, spring F, and joi'ntformed by the sleeve E and angle-pipe B from dust, as well as to form anoil-receptacle when desired, I thread one end of sleeves G and H andscrew upon it a cap, I, which, while rotating with its sleeve, inclosesthe spring F and collar G. Y

The coupling for the free pipe ends 0 consists of'a sleeve, J, ofshorter length than one pipeend 0, adapted to fit snugly over the pipe0, but so as to be easily rotated thereon by hand, and provided with astud, j, radiating therefrom. A sleeve, K, of greater length than onepipe end 0, is packed to makea close joint with both pipe ends 0, overwhich it is designed to pass, and provided with a stud, 70, adapted tobe aligned with the stud j, and a spring-strap, L, having a hook endadapted to partially inclose sleeve H, and a fiat portion havingopenings for the studs j therein, so arranged that when the sleeve J isbearing against shoulder m and the sleeve K is bearing against sleeve Jand the strap is hooked over sleeve H said openings will come oppositethe studs k j, which, being passed therethrough and keyed, hold bothsleeves to one sleeve H.

The object of sleeve J is to form an intermediate point of attachmentbetween sleeve H and sleeve K, which enables the attachment either pipe0, to be readily combined with its sleeve H and the sleeve K.

The sleeve J, together with the sleeve H,

enables the hook-strap L to be easily combined with either pipe end 0;and in practice when so arranged the sleeve K is passed over the otherpipe end 0, the two pipe ends 0 are aligned, and the sleeve K is slid toembrace bot-h pipe ends and come against the 'end of sleeve J. When inthis position, the sleeve K is rotated, or the stud on it, to come inline with stud j, and the strap part of hook L is sprung, as indicatedin dotted lines, to pass oventhe stud It, where it is keyed or otherwisesecured, as shown.

The combined length of both sleeves J K is proportioned so that thehunters of the cars will prevent the pipe endsOfrom coming quite incontact, so that they could be jammed, and so that the maximumdistention of the cars while coupled will not withdraw the pipe endsfrom without the sleeve K.

It will be-seen that upon a derailment of 1 the cars the ends 0 will beuncoupled, so that steam in the pipes would escape into the open air.

In Fig. I the sleeve J and hook L are com bined, with the opposite hingefrom which they are shown combined in Fig. II.

In Fig. II the pipe ends 0 are shown slid apart in the sleeve K, andthis reciprocation allowed them, together with their individual andjoint motion upon their sleeve-hinges H and E, permits them to remaincoupled through all motion of the cars when themselves coupled.

Both ends of sleeve K are necessarily packed to form tight joints withpipe ends 0, and my stuffing-box and packing are peculiar, as follows:An enlarged end, M, of the tube N, forming the sleeve proper, suppliesan en,- larged counterbore with a shoulder, n, at its base. The tube Nis provided with a metal bushing, 0, preferably of different metalfromthat of which the pipes O are formed. The

I bushing 0, extending into the enlarged end M past the shoulder 11,leaves a recess, in which rests a coil-spring, thus held by theprojectingbushing from actual contact with the surface to be packed.Within the end M is screwed a part, 0, combining the features of a glandand cage of the ordinary stuffing-box when thus combined with anenlarged pipe end, M, having a shoulder, n, at its base.

The part O,as shown in section,Fig. IV, and in plan, Fig. VI, has amouth, 2, to admit easily the cylinder to be packed, has a conicalthroat, 1', leading to a cylindrical part larger in diameter than themouth p,and hasa shoulder, 8, adapted to close against the tube endM,and is also adapted to be run into place by a spanner or other wrench.Within the part 0, to bear between the throat r and the shoulder a, isplaced the packing t, to be compressed upon the cylinder-surface T.

In the drawings a peculiar ring-packing is shown combined with acoil-spring, u. The packing t consists of two split rings, t it, settinginto each other, so that, the conical ends of both coinciding,each bearsupon the throat 0 when pressed by spring'u. The exterior of section t,received within section t,is the frustum of a cone united at its base tothe part bearing upon throat r and fitting into a correspondingcone-socket in section it.

The interior bore of the combined sections is that of the cylinder T,and the section t" has a base equal to the combined diameter of the twosections at any point, and against this base the pressure of the springit acts to cause both sections to travel on the throat 1' to maintain apacking-surface on cylinder T in taking up all wear,and the section t,while having its cylindrical surface pressed uniformly upon the cylinderT, is backed always solidly by the section t bearing equally against itand the wall connected to and upon the ends of pipes D and O,to form acontinuous passage, and held to the arms of said pipe B, to formsteam-tight joints therewith, in combination with a sleeve adapted toinclose both free pipe ends 0 and be held to one sleeve H,substantiallyas shown and described.

2. In pipe-couplings for railway-cars, the

combination, with one arm of an angle-pipe, B, provided with a shoulder,b, circnmferential ports 6, and threaded closed end 0', of a sleevebearing upon said arm upon both sides of said ports 6 and upon theshoulder b, pro vided with a passage therein around said ports, and incombination with a collar, G, and spring F, operating to pack saidsleeve upon the pipe-arm.

3. In pipe-couplings. for railway-cars, the combination, with one arm ofan angle-pipe, B, forming a joint at one end thereof, provided withports 6, shoulder 12, and collar G, and hav- IIO spring, F, interposedbetween said sleeve and collar G, of a cap, I, adapted to screw over oneend of the sleeve to inclose the collar and spring, as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. In a pipe-coupling between railway-cars, the combination, with thefree hinged pipe ends 0 of contiguous cars, and having externalshoulders near their hinge-joints, of two sleeves, J K, arranged end toend to inclose the two pipe ends C, to have one outer end bear againstthe shoulder of one pipe end 0 and the other end removed by an intervalfrom the shoulder of the other pipe end O,and of a combined length toleave a space therein between the pipe ends 0, and a hook, L, arrangedsub;

which they bear, whereby upon the release of said hook the sections J Kmay be divided upon the two pipe ends 0 to permit them to be separatedor approached.

5. The improved stufling-box for pipe ends, consisting of thecombination, with a pipe, N, of an enlarged pipe, M, prolonged from theend thereof, counter-bored to leave a shoulder, a, surrounding theperimeter of pipe N and internally threaded, a tube, 0, externallythreaded to screw into the one M, having an internal packing-chamberwit-h a conical top, 1', and having the shoulder n for its base, andhaving upon its outer end a flange, s, perforated or squared to receiveaspanner or other wrench, and a packing, 1, bearing between the conicaltop 1 and shoulder 71, all arranged sub stantial] y as shown.

6. The combination oftube N,bushing 0,pro-

jecting beyond the end thereof, as shown, en-

larged tube end M, having shoulder n, part 0, arranged with tube end M,as shown, and provided with a conical throat, 1*, as one end of apacking-chamber therein, ring-packing t,and

coil-spring a, bearing between the packing t and shoulder a, andarranged outside of bushing 0, all arranged substantially as shown anddescribed.

7. The improved packing for stuffingboxes having a cylindrical chamberprovided with one conical end,r,and consisting of a split section, t, inone piece of the form of two conical rings united at their bases, andanother section, t, in the form of a conical annulus with anoutward-beveled rim, the two sections combined,as shown, to have onecone side of section 25 and the beveled end of section it conform to thecone 1" and in contact therewith, and the other cone side of section tseated in the section t, whereby the section t is simultaneouslycompressed from two cone-faces and the wear upon both sections is evenlydistributed to maintain the same form to both.

PETER DUFRESNE.

\Vitnesses:

R. F. HYDE, PENN TYLER.

